At Her Majesty's Pleasure.mp4

In 1996 Mr. Leung Yiu Chung, a legislative councilor in Hong Kong, received a letter from 23 prisoners serving indefinite sentences for crimes committed in their youth. These sentences, known as "at her Majesty's pleasure" are the equivalent of life without parole sentences - these youth had no opportunity for release except for a very rarely granted pardon from the Queen. After organizing the families of those serving and gathering the support of over 2000 people in Hong Kong, legislation was introduced and passed which allowed all of these young people an opportunity to earn their release. As of 2003, all 23 have been released. Herman Yau directed a movie about this struggle entitled, "From the Queen to the Chief Executive." This movie, based on a book by the same name, was the official selection of the Berlin Film Festival. Despite critical acclaim, this movie was banned in China because it was determined to "lack creative merit."

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Juvenile Justice
• Leung Yiu Chung
• Fair Sentencing
• Hong Kong
• Herman Yau
• Amnesty International
• Life without Parole
• JJPL
• Human Rights
• Criminal Justice